Hi Everyone. My name
is Leslie Woods and I serve in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Office of
Public Witness.

I'm going to quickly speak about the budget deal Congress
passed last week to open up the government and prevent default on the national
debt.

Last week,
after 16 days of a government shutdown and one day before potential U.S.
default, Congress passed H.R. 2775, which reopened the government and raised
the debt ceiling. The Senate passed the bill 81-18,
and the House passed it 285-144.
All of the House Democrats and 87 Republicans voted for the bill.It was a bipartisan vote in both chambers.

So first,
it's worth noting what was not
in the deal. The deal did not defund
the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The deal did not delay the Affordable Care Act. The deal
did not have any spending cuts included
as a condition for raising the debt ceiling. These were mostly clean extensions
of government spending and a debt ceiling increase. That said, preventing a
Congressionally created economic catastrophe is not exactly all that worthy of
celebration; but it is important.

So, what was in the deal? The deal mostly
sets up a new set of deadlines for Congress to reach the next deal. The
legislation passed last week funds the government at current levels through
January 15, 2014, and raises the debt ceiling through February 7, 2014, but
Congress won't have to raise the debt ceiling again until March or even later
because the Treasury can use extraordinary measures, as it did in this most
recent situation, to buy more time. The bill also included language on income
verification for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

And while
not written into the legislation, the deal also created a budget conference
committee to negotiate a budget for the remainder of the 2014 fiscal year and
to address sequestration, which is Washington-speak for the across-the-board
spending cuts we’ve been living with this year. This Committee must
report back to Congress with a budget framework by December 13.

First, the
committee could emerge with a big, multi-trillion dollar, decade-long budget
deal and succeed where all previous bipartisan commissions, groups, and
committees have failed. If you think this sounds optimistic, you’re instincts
are good. This would be a very heavy lift and probably the least likely
outcome.

In the
second scenario, the committee could come up with a smaller deal that resolves
the overall funding level for fiscal year 2014 and replaces some or all of the
sequester for one, or even two, years. If this happens, there are two issues to
keep an eye on: the overall funding level and the makeup of any package that
replaces sequestration. The overall size of the budget they agree on will
determine the amount of funding available for international poverty-focused
development and humanitarian assistance programs, WIC, Head Start, and all the
other anti-hunger and poverty discretionary programs. If the committee comes up
with a plan to replace sequestration, we will be watching to see if it is a
balanced fix that includes new revenues and protects important anti-poverty
programs, such as SNAP and Medicaid.

Finally,
the committee could emerge with no
deal. At that point, Congress will have until Jan. 15 to prevent another
shutdown and potentially address sequestration.

We must
continue to urge members of Congress to pass a faithful budget that adequately
funds programs that combat hunger and poverty, and replace sequestration with a
balanced plan. Your work on this and faithfulness in creating a drumbeat
demanding just and compassionate budget solutions is extremely important,
especially in the next few weeks.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

This
morning, PC(USA) Director for Public Witness, the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, II,
joined with interfaith and

ecumenical colleagues in calling on Congress to put
the common good ahead of political games.In a Pilgrimage for Courage and
the Common Good, Rev. Nelson and his colleagues gathered in the Rotunda of
the Cannon House Office Building, began with prayer and hymns, and then began a
processional through the halls of Congress, stopping to deliver this
letter at the offices of key members whose influence and good faith is crucial
to ending this political standoff.The
letter begins,

J. Herbert Nelson, Michael Livingston and other faith leaders gather

"As people of
faith and conscience, we urge you to place shared democratic values above short
term political expediency, exercise the courage to fund our nation’s
government, raise the debt limit without preconditions and get back to work on
a faithful budget that serves the common good.

"Too many
lives are impacted by this selfish internal battle for power. The United States
government has an important role in alleviating hunger and poverty, ensuring
food safety and public health, investing in clinical trials and research,
monitoring pollution and the safety of the environment, engaging in diplomacy
and relief and development operations overseas, and employing the nation’s
largest workforce. It is time to put the federal government back
to work to ensure health, wholeness, and fulfilling livelihoods, not only for
federal workers, but for all of us.

"We need a government that functions based on
a commitment to shared responsibility and the common good. Those who have contempt for government have no business serving as
a Member of Congress.It is contrary to
the oath of office.Join me in calling
on Congress to end this shutdown and engage in more reasonable debate in which
people’s wellbeing is at the center of our concern.

Washington, DC – Today, over 50 prominent religious leaders
joined with locked-out federal workers in a pilgrimage, marched on key House
GOP offices – including Leadership – and urged an immediate end to the
government shutdown. At each office, the group prayed for the Member to do what
is right and vote to immediately end the shutdown with a clean and
unconditional continuing resolution and to raise the debt ceiling without
preconditions.

During the Pilgrimage, faith
leaders invited moderate Republicans to join them in challenging their
colleagues who are putting political agendas ahead of the common good.

An extreme faction of
Congress is recklessly playing politics with the lives of countless
Americans: seniors seeing “Meals on Wheels” cut, pregnant women and infants
losing vital nutrition support, workers locked out of their jobs as bills pile
up, veterans facing benefit cuts, and communities put in peril by the
suspension of crucial environmental protection efforts.

“It’s time for irresponsible
factions in Congress to stop this reckless behavior and end this shutdown
immediately,” said Sr. Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK,
A Catholic Social Justice Lobby. “There is no moral justification for
holding struggling families, pregnant women and seniors hostage.”

The marchers also included
low-wage workers locked out of their jobs by the shutdown.

“Before the shutdown, I was
struggling to support my unemployed
father and little sister,” said Alex Vesquez,
a contract food worker at the Smithsonian.
“Now I’ve gone from low wages to no wages. Tea Party Republicans need to stop
these political games and let me get back to work.”

At each office the group
prayed for the Member and left a letter endorsed by religious organizations,
saying "As people of faith and conscience, we urge you to place
shared democratic values above short term political expediency, exercise the
courage to fund our nation’s government, raise the debt limit without
preconditions and get back to work on a faithful budget that serves the common
good.”

Faith leaders had a clear
moral message for the Congressmen responsible.

“Locking low-income workers
out of their jobs and holding them for ransom is simply un-Christian. This
inflicts needless pain on families already struggling to make ends meet,” said Rev.
Michael Livingston, Policy Director at Interfaith Worker Justice. “We’re
urging the members of Congress responsible for this hardship to vote now to put
these workers back in their jobs.”

Simultaneously, people of
faith delivered over 32,000 petitions to Congressional offices around the
country calling on House Members to end the government shutdown. The petition
signers are members of Faithful America — a fast-growing online
community dedicated to reclaiming Christianity from the religious right and
putting faith into action for social justice.

This statement,
which was also signed by more than 150 clergy and theologians, sharply rebuked
irresponsible elected officials for pursuing an “extreme ideological agenda at
the expense of the working poor and vulnerable families” by shutting down the
federal government.

Participants in the march
included leaders from NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby; The
Salvation Army, Interfaith Worker Justice, National Council of Churches,
Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness, The Shalom Center, Faith in
Public Life, Church World Service, American Friends Service Committee,
Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, Disciples Center for Public Witness
(Disciples of Christ), Disciples Justice Action Network (Disciples of Christ),
Disciples Home Missions, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and Ecumenical
Advocacy Days, Franciscan Action Network, United Church of Christ, United
Methodist Church, The Coalition on Human Needs.

As people of faith and conscience, we urge you to place shared
democratic values above short term political expediency, exercise the courage
to fund our nation’s government,raise
the debt limit without preconditions and get back to work on a faithful budget
that serves the common good.

Shuttering the federal government and propelling the United
States into financial default to achieve narrow political objectives is
short-sighted and self-destructive. The danger for all who value democracy –
regardless of party affiliation – is apparent.One only needs to consider this precedent being applied to other policy
concerns of a minority in Congress who are powerful within their own party but
unable to create legislative change within the bounds of due process.Blocking routine but essential functions of
government to extract specific policy concessions could destroy America’s
democratic process.

To take such rash and destructive action in order to prevent
further implementation of the Affordable Care Act – which addresses the needs
of 50 million people without health insurance -- is a grave moral failure.
While the ACA has its limitations, it implements a market-based model with a
history of bi-partisan support. Repealing or defunding it will hurt millions of
people and many small businesses. We urge all
members of Congress to stand up for our democracy and reject this futile and
harmful effort.

Additional damage accrues each day the government remains in
partial shutdown:

Federal funding for the Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC) program may not be able to cover all benefits. Some states have
already closed WIC offices, and many participants are terrified that they won’t
be able to find nourishment for themselves or their infants and toddlers.

An estimated 19,000 impoverished children are
without preschool because of the shutdown, which left more than 20 programs
across 11 states without funding on the heels of devastating sequester cuts.
Those previous cuts had already shut out 57,000 at-risk children who lost their
Head Start slots.

Many low-wage workers are losing their paychecks
or seeing their earnings dwindle even further. Examples include government
mailroom clerks, many of whom are people with disabilities, who work for
government contractors. Even if furloughed federal employees are eventually
paid, many others who work for contractors have no such assurance.

The Administration for Children and Families,
which cares for children in abusive and violent family situations, announced
that certain child welfare programs will not be funded during the shutdown.

Our environmental wellbeing is suffering and our
citizens are at risk as health inspectors, EPA inspectors and a myriad others
who enforce important laws are unable to do their jobs.

In addition, a failure to raise the debt limit
on spending that Congress has already
approved will undermine our still fragile economy and harm the global
economy, especially the most vulnerable.

You hold
a key to doing what is right for the American people, and we pray for you to
act in the best interest of our nation. Once this unnecessary and dangerous
stalemate is over, we count on you to act on behalf of all of our people and
enact a Faithful Budget. Stop the partisan paralysis and uphold what our
Constitution refers to as the “general welfare” – the common good of all.

With hope and a belief in the ultimate goodwill and good
sense of Members of Congress, we hold you in our hearts and prayers.

[ENDORSING ORGANIZATIONS]

Am Kolel Jewish Jewish Renewal Community (Md, DC, Va)

American Friends Service Committee

Center of Concern

Center on Conscience and War

Church
of the Brethren

Church Women United

Church World Service

Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach

Conference of Major Superiors of Men

Disciples Home Missions, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Disciples Justice Action Network (Disciples of Christ)

Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Washington Office

Franciscan Action Network

Friends Committee on National Legislation

Interfaith Moral Action of Climate

Justice and Witness Ministries, United Church of Christ

Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Office of Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation

About Me

The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness is the public policy information and advocacy office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Its task is to advocate, and help the church to advocate, the social witness perspectives and policies of the Presbyterian General Assembly. The church has a long history of applying these biblically and theologically-based insights to issues that affect the public — maintaining a public policy ministry in the nation's capital since 1946.
Reformed theology teaches that because a sovereign God is at work in all the world, the church and Christian citizens should be concerned about public policy. In addition, Presbyterian forefather John Calvin wrote, "Civil magistry is a calling not only holy and legitimate, but by far the most sacred and honorable in human life."